


when the daylight's fading, we're gonna play in the dark

by notthebigspoon



Series: Brandon and Hobbes [15]
Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-22
Updated: 2013-03-22
Packaged: 2017-12-06 02:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/730606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notthebigspoon/pseuds/notthebigspoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or aren’t you? C’mon Hobbesy...”</p><p>    “I just didn’t like seeing them go without me is all. And I know I never can go. It sucks.”</p><p>Title taken from Chasing The Sun by The Wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when the daylight's fading, we're gonna play in the dark

There’s a chill breeze in the air. The dirt and grass muffle the noise of his paws. He can hear the sounds of the city but that’s not what he focuses on. It’s beautiful... he’s never been to one of these in person, not a real one anyway. He loves it. The only thing that would be better is if the stands were full and the sun was shining and his best friend was at bat. Even so, parking himself at short stop, staring up at the moon and smiling is a dream come true.

The moment is broken when a ball lands a few feet away from him and rolls up to his feet.

“Well? Throw it back!” Posey is standing at the mound, a broad grin on his face. “They would have already scored at this rate.”

“Well the lack of opposable thumbs might have something to do with that.” Hobbes huffs, sticking his tongue out.

“That’s the same excuse you use for getting out of changing diapers!” Brandon points out, sitting in the grass next to Hobbes. “We still love you though. How is it? Do you like it?”

“I can see why you love it. I just wish I could see it for what it is... the real thing. In person.” Hobbes say softly. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”

They sit in silence while Posey treads around the mound, kicking at piles of dirt. It’s cold, and he wraps himself around Brandon, closing his eyes and just enjoying being able to be in this

place, to see what Brandon gets to see. It’s not the same but it’s close enough. The only thing he enjoys more is eating tuna sandwiches and doritos while Braylyn naps, his tail draped across her head.

It’s over too soon for his liking, Buster pulling Brandon to his feet and holding his hand as they leave the field and creep through the tunnels, Hobbes on their heels. They pile into Buster’s car, stop at Taco Bell and head back to the condo Buster and Brandon are sharing for the duration of spring training. Sandoval and Molina are asleep on the couch with Braylyn, grumbling when roused and released of their babysitting duties, scratching behind Hobbes’s ears before shuffling out the door.

He doesn’t sleep much the rest of the night, climbing onto his bed after Brandon has tucked Braylyn into her crib. He tries to bring back that feeling, the breeze in his fur and being in a place so much bigger than himself. Tries to imagine what it would be to be there for real, to hear the crack of the bat and see the balls flying through the air. Maybe he’d see Buster or Brandon hit a home run.

The realization that he’d actually slept doesn’t come until he wakes to the smell of bacon and sausage cooking. He eats in the corner of the kitchen, head down as he listens to Brandon and Buster talk, make plans for the day before the game. After getting to see the park for himself, the idea of getting left behind hurts more than it usually does. He loves Braylyn and he loves Amber, but he’d rather be at a baseball game in person with his best friend than sitting at home and listening to it online with his best ladyfriend.

His heart sinks when he sees them carefully fastening Braylyn into her car seat. So she’s going with them today. It wouldn’t be the first time since spring training started but it would be the first time Hobbes has really been alone in a long time. Some people might find that a relief, a chance to be alone and unwind, but he finds the idea hurtful and almost cruel. He doesn’t want to be alone and they’re leaving him there by himself.

He slinks to the corner of the room, to the giant dog bed that serves as his favorite napping spot, sunlight streaming through the bay window. He closes his eyes and pretends he’s asleep, doesn’t acknowledge the goodbyes or the rubs on his head that he gets. He doesn’t respond when Amber lets herself in and calls his name. When she sits next to him and wraps an arm around his neck, cheek against the top of his head, he sighs and licks her hand.

“Well are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or aren’t you?” She asks, laughing but with a sense of firmness behind it, as if it’s an order. “C’mon Hobbesy...”

“I just didn’t like seeing them go without me is all.” He answers gloomily. “And I know I never can go. It sucks.”

“You’ve been in the clubhouse plenty of times.”

“Yeah, but everyone sees me as a stuffed animal and I just have to sit still the whole time and it takes a lot of the fun out of it and-”

Amber laughs and kisses between his ears. “And you wouldn’t mind anyway, because you’d be there with all of your friends. I know you Hobbes. Now come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the stadium, duh.” She answers, as if he should have known that. “Time for your first major league game. Maybe no beer or cotton candy or hot dogs for you but you can at least watch Brandon play. And Barry’s pitching.”

“But they didn’t ask me to go.” Hobbes answers weakly, getting up and following her to the door anyway. “What if they get mad?”

“Screw them, I asked you to go. If they’ve got a problem with it, they can kiss both our asses.”

Nobody that wears orange and black has ever been any good at telling Amber no. Hobbes is no exception. He follows her down to the street, checking to make sure there’s no one about before climbing into the back seat of the car. He keeps his head down as she sings along with the radio, tapping his paw along to the beat and wondering if Brandon’s going to be very angry with him for turning up uninvited.

He’s gone plushy again when they reach the stadium, tugged into the crook of Amber’s arm as she makes her way inside. Barry meets them and takes him next. He doesn’t really know where they’re going until they’re actually there, overtaken by noise and warmth as they enter the dugout. He’s propped up on the bench, Barry whispering a promise that someone will make sure he’s able to see the game. Hobbes wishes he was big right now, if only so they could see how happy he is and so he could say thank you.

He was nervous about Brandon and Buster’s reaction. They don’t look like they mind all that much but their enthusiasm doesn’t match Pablo’s. The man lights up, grinning broadly, and after the anthem has been sung and the game has started, he scoops Hobbes up. He bounds up to the railing, balances Hobbes in front of him and asks him what he thinks. Hobbes wishes he could answer but even if he could, he doesn’t think that he would have the words for how beautiful all of it is.

The team, the ones that can see him anyway, sees to it that he doesn’t miss a bit of the game. When one of them leaves to sit down, he’s passed off to another. He finds himself thankful for being Brandon’s mascot, the perfect excuse for being present there. When Brandon takes a turn holding him, he’s filled with a type of contentment that he didn’t know he was capable of.

He’s the happiest he’s ever been.


End file.
